John I believe that's an unfair comment, and infers that the behmor is somehow inferior, or that behmor uses are "fan boys."I have MUCH respect for the ability of the Hot Top to do an excellent job, with it's additional programmability.

But if you're going to comment, why not discuss 8-9 oz max roast versus up to 1#...which I've done consistently, with the same Behmor for over 400 roasts. I GENERALLY roast 13-14 oz, as i find it does exactly what I want there.The top of the line Hot Top is a proven winner, as is the Behmor, provides slightly different taste profile than the Behmor, and has it's fans, and deservedly so.

Customer service from Behmor is beyond reproach (IMO), and Im sure Randy Glass, or some other Hot Top user will chime in regarding CS. I have to figure it's good, or the word would get around FAST!!

For ME, the lack of filter changing and cleaning, ease of use, and capacity favor the Behmor.For others, the operating features of the HotTop, which more closely resemble a professional style roaster may make up for the smaller batch size.From what I understand, the HotTop has a nicely designed cooling system, very important for getting a roast where you want to.

Both roasters allow for experimentation, though the Behmor is a bit more of a "seat of the pants" thing.

IMO, you can't go wrong with either.

Whoops, one more thing to consider is price.The HotTop is, I believe $899?The Behmor $299.

Disclosure...I've made it clear that I have never used a HotTop, though I've tasted roasts through it and the Gene Cafe.

In the beginning, I was a Behmor Beta tester for Joe, though just one of several.I do not believe I have posted regarding the Behmor in any way that would show me to be a "fan boy"...just a happy user.

Great post! My opinion exactly. There are differences in the machines. Both have weaknesses/quirks and both have strengths. Everyone is looking for a little something different in their home roaster and these two, among the many others available, are just part of the home roasting market. I do not think it is fair to compare the two, as they are so different. The comparison would go on for ever and ever without end.

Great post! My opinion exactly. There are differences in the machines. Both have weaknesses/quirks and both have strengths. Everyone is looking for a little something different in their home roaster and these two, among the many others available, are just part of the home roasting market. I do not think it is fair to compare the two, as they are so different. The comparison would go on for ever and ever without end.

You said it in far less words.Again, we are lucky to have these tools. Even a Convection top/stir crazy set up, when used properly can produce good results, though IMO not as complex a taste profile as the HotTop or Behmor.

BTW, I hope all this cross talk is helping our OP make up his mind.Either way, he's going to get terrific coffee.....hopefully using green from reputable sources.

Too Major selling points for me, for the Hottop KN8828-B. Direct, and Constant Temperature Control, and On-Board, Fast Cooling. The other major point.. The ease of getting a Bean Mass Temperature Probe into the roaster.

Those are three very crucial things, none of which are doable on the Behmor. If you really want to roast coffees to their best potential, you need that stuff. At the very least, full temp control.

For the money, the Behmor is good. $300 isn't too hard to swallow, and if your patient, you can get some good roasts. But, what really turned me off of the Behmor, was how you have to "trick" the roaster, and work around it. Almost everyone tells the roaster they're using more beans then they are, opening the door for X minutes, running test batches to guess where the cracks will be to figure out batch size for the next roast...

I wanted the ability to buy a coffee, and control the roast to the ideal profile, for that coffee. Add a bean temp probe(and an ET probe if you wish), and you have the info, and the control you need, to fully profile a roast. The only thing holding you back, is YOU.

This morning, I had 4 double shots, of coffee that I roasted myself, in the Hottop. They were fabulous! It was the first time I enjoyed home roasted espresso, in over 8months. And the roast profile, was pretty simple.... more of a test run then a real roasting session. Today I am adding my Bean Temp/ET temp probes, to transform the already awesome HottopB, into the single best roaster under $1k.

I love my Hottop. Im drinking the best coffee I have ever roasted, and the espresso is darn good too. It will only get better from here!

As, being out of my mind tired, I didn't realize this thread is resurrected from 2008!So...last post for now..jman, have you ACTUALLY owned a Behmor?Just curious, as you state things that are, on some levels untrue.For instance, there is a very easy way to get the beans to room temperature INSIDE the Behmor within 4 minutes...or less...and I'm speaking about 12oz YEILD by weight...starting weight, 15 oz green, roasted to city+.

That said, again I say that the HotTop appears to be a terrific product, and the proof is with so many happy owners.

It has come to my attention that I did not post my usual disclaimer about my relationship with Hottop:I am not an employee with the company. I am a graphic artist and in that regard I wrote all but the first the Hottop owner's manual. I created the Hottop website, and all the content therein. I do not benefit from sales of Hottops (other than they stay in business) nor do I personally sell them nor get any sort of bonus or kickback from sales. Just my hourly charges when I do work for them. They do listen to my feedback, although what value that feedback has been given varies widely to being applied to being ignored.

I have not used the Behmor. Although Joe said, multiple times, that he would send me one to test and review when they were first introduced it never happened. Without reading through this thread I do not believe I ever said anything about how the Behmor works. If I had, I don't remember. Joe did talk me through the programming, and being a visual learner it sounded very convoluted to me.

I have owned at lest one of every model and version of Hottop made over the years. The first two, and KN-8828 and the KN-8828D were the best thing available at the time,. but totally lacked user control other than start and then stop when you wanted using their programmed profile. The "P" I never liked. They have their place in the market, but few who participate on sites such as this one would like it. The "B," in terms of user control, is awesome. It is what I spent about three years trying to convince them to do; that is, give the user the choice of how THEY want their coffee roasted.

Once you have control, it's only a beginning. What you do with roast control, and how you connect it to the coffee roasting recipe is the next question. Control of the roaster is just the first step of a long journey. I've never been 'bored' with the process of roast profile control. There is still plenty of opportunity for surprise in this complex puzzle.

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